Bowtie he lives off rt.19 in a nice hood.He has a 388 hustler with american flag painted on it.He hangs out at Mikes on fridays.You should hook up with him.his screen name here is hudsonslingshot

Born & raised in FL, Tampa area, joined the military & left, My family still lives there. I retired 5 years ago, & have thought many times of moving back. I love the area, boating year round, oh, & did I mention the "HEAT"? ...Anywhere along the Gulf Coast is perfect, jobs are plentiful, & schools are good. Motocross is everywhere, just look at all the pro riders who live there, Stewart, Carmichael just to mention a few, Tim Ferry even lives behind my mom, & they ride year round. West coast is also a good place, my brother lives in the Orlando area & loves it. Pretty much anywhere you live, your less than an hour away from a boat slip, & isn't that why most folks live in FL?

Born & raised in FL, Tampa area, joined the military & left, My family still lives there. I retired 5 years ago, & have thought many times of moving back. I love the area, boating year round, oh, & did I mention the "HEAT"? ...Anywhere along the Gulf Coast is perfect, jobs are plentiful, & schools are good. Motocross is everywhere, just look at all the pro riders who live there, Stewart, Carmichael just to mention a few, Tim Ferry even lives behind my mom, & they ride year round. West coast is also a good place, my brother lives in the Orlando area & loves it. Pretty much anywhere you live, your less than an hour away from a boat slip, & isn't that why most folks live in FL? ....Oh, & did I mention the "HEAT"?....Good luck with your move

Ft. Myers / Cape Coral area is a phenomenal location to live. Water is everywhere, inland and offshore - it is a boaters paradise. The Cape Coral area is the STUFF!!!

I really like the fort lauderdale area. Plantation, FL seems like a real nice place but that is just me of course.

Sarasota

Bonita to Bradenton is where I have zeroed in on. Just got to sell here and I will never come back!

Wise move grasshopper!!!

Ok, here's my take on where to live.....

Anywhere along the Gulf Coast. The east Coast will be nice but you'd be better on the West Coast. Stay away from Orlando. If you've ever tried to get from Toms River to Seaside in the summer you know what the traffic is like. It's that way here all the time. Takes me forever to get anyplace. Took me two hours to get home one night last week and I only drive 12 miles. No accidents, just rain, trains, and traffic.
As soon as I can sell my house I'm moving to the Tampa/Saint Petersburg area. I have got to get away from these tourists. I have a few other resons but I reserve those comments for another time.

If you're in Kissimmee, I can guess what the other reasons are. I know what you mean with the traffic. We live in St. Cloud on the lake and I work in Altamonte. The drive sucks but it's worth it when I get home.

Central FL is great if you do smaller water boating or a combination of small & big. Plenty of lakes/rivers for sub 25' boats, but you're also 1-2 hours to either coast. Also, homeowners insurance is cheaper the further inland you go. The Florida real estate boom has pretty much flattened out and it's slowly becoming a buyers market. After the 2004 hurricane season a lot of people bailed and moved into the mountains.

As others have said the West Coast is beautiful, anywhere from Ft. Myers up through Tarpon Springs or so.